Book review: Hans Kelsen, “Hans Kelsen Werke” (Matthias Jestaedt en cooperación con el Hans Kelsen-Institut, 2020, 647 págs.).

Hans Kelsen’s Constitutionalism

Abstract

Book review:

Hans Kelsen, “Hans Kelsen Werke” (Matthias Jestaedt en cooperación con el Hans Kelsen-Institut, 2020, 647 págs.).

The aim of this critical review is to analyze the commentary on the Constitution of the Republic of Austria that H. Kelsen, G. Froehlich and A. J. Merkl published a century ago by. Kelsen had made different drafts of the Constitution that were partially altered in different versions. Their commentary carries out a critical examination of the Constitution. It explains the fundamental principles and points out certain misleading expressions that were the result of the compromises made between the political parties. Kelsen reveals the contradictions and achievements that still persist in the Austrian Magna Carta. Its principles form the basis of the federal democratic parliamentary and republican state, in which the rule of law prevails and the separation of powers maintains a liberal bias. However, the commentary also shows that the Constitution is based on multiple elements elaborated in the monarchical constitution. The commentary is still used by constitutionalists today. The review introduces the fundaments of the preliminary work carried out in the elaboration of the Constitution. First, the author describes the general provisions and ends with an analysis of the final provisions. The second section focuses on the functions of the confederate state. The third section describes the structure and powers of the federal states. The last section describes monitoring body. Finally, certain observations are made about the theoretical assumptions on which the commentary is based.